You are Strong and Brave

He is a manly man,
of course.

But he discourages co-dependency,
of course.

He gently encourages her 
to be independent,
to stand on her own two feet, 
-as is her own wish too-
''so that you eventually don't need any crutches 
in your life, not even by me''.

''You are strong and brave,
more than you could possibly imagine''
he told her once
and she repeats that to herself
whenever she stumbles on a problem 
and deals with it
with as much dignity and courage
as she can master.

She loves earning his respect....

Being strong and happy
the way he first saw her...